Lord Elystan-Morgan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 2 March (WA 86), how the 11.56 per cent. reduction in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' funding for sustainable farming and food research for 2006–07 compares in percentage terms with funding available for (a) climate change and energy; (b) natural resource protection; (c) sustainable consumption and production; (d) sustainable rural communities; and (e) sustainable farming and food in that financial year.

Lord Bach: Spend on sustainable food and farming research in the financial year 2006–07 will be around £34 million, a cut of approximately 11.5 per cent. on the financial year 2005–06. This spend forms part of the £80.7 million allocated to Defra's "Sustainable Food and Farming and Animal Health and Welfare" strategic priority.
	The £80.7 million spend on this strategic priority forms 49 per cent. of Defra's total research spend. In comparison, 19 per cent. of research spend is on the climate change and energy strategic priority, 13 per cent. is spent on the Natural Resource Protection strategic priority, 6.4 per cent. on the Sustainable Consumption and Production strategic priority and 1.4 per cent. on the Sustainable Rural Communities strategic priority. The remaining funds are allocated elsewhere.
	While this refocusing of Defra's research programmes will mean a reduction in our level of investment in farming and land-based research, we will continue to be a major investor in biological research on sustainable agriculture in the future.

Lord Bach: Defra procures research to support Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government policies relevant to sustainable agriculture at a range of research establishments including the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER). As IGER is a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) research institute, its future is a matter for the BBSRC and the institute.
	However, as a customer for the services provided by IGER, Defra has an interest in the maintenance of areas of expertise and service provision that relate to our present and developing needs. IGER continues to be an important research partner for Defra. This is reflected in my department's continuing significant investment; we are committed to investing over £5 million in research programmes at IGER in 2006–07. No existing research programmes have been terminated early.
	Defra's needs for scientific evidence and, therefore, the expertise required within the scientific community to service these needs, are changing. This has been documented in our Science Forward Look 1  and our recent consultation documentEvidence and Innovation Strategy2 . We look to the UK science and engineering base as a whole, including public sector research institutes, the higher education institutions and the private sector, to provide the expertise required to support the delivery of our strategic priorities. 1 Evidence and innovation: Defra's needs from the sciences over the next 10 years, July 2004 www.defra.gov.uk/science/publications/documents/ScienceForwardLook3rd.pdf. 2 Evidence and Innovation Strategy 2005–08: consultation document issued October 2005; www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/ei-straiecty/eis-consultdoc.pdf.

Lord Drayson: Information on the total value of equipment currently apportioned to the Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment (R IRISH) is not held centrally and complete information could be provided only by the use of disproportionate time and effort.
	However, from what information that is held centrally I can confirm that in February 2006 the net book value of fixed assets and stock holdings apportioned to the Home Service battalions amounted to some £8,300,000.
	Equipment currently used by the Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment will, wherever possible, be made available for reallocation to other units or to other theatres when no longer required by the Home Service Battalions. Such reallocations already take place on a regular basis, as requirements for holdings are reassessed. The Ministry of Defence's Disposals Services Agency will advise on equipment that is declared surplus to requirement but no estimates are currently available of likely receipts.

Lord Rooker: The Arts Council of Northern Ireland's total budget for 2005–06 was £15,755,470. This figure includes both Lottery and Exchequer funding.
	Of this total, £387,216 was provided to organisations supporting Irish culture (2.46 per cent), whilst £91,292 was provided to organisations supporting Ulster Scots culture (0.58 per cent); £6,850 (0.043 per cent) was provided to an organisation which supports both cultures.

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether a person has a claim to British Overseas citizenship under Article 6(1) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 if (a) he was born before 30 June 1979 and acquired citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies under section 4 or 5 of the British Nationality Act 1948; (b) he was a citizen of India solely by virtue of birth or descent; (c) immediately before 1 January 1983, he did not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom under section 2 of the Immigration Act 1971; (d) on 1 January 1983, he acquired British Dependent Territories citizenship under section 23 of the British Nationality Act 1981 because of a connection to Hong Kong; (e) upon reaching the age of 18 he took no steps to renounce his British nationality; (f) immediately before 1 July 1997 he was a British Dependent Territories citizen, and, if it had not been for his connection with Hong Kong, he would not have been such a citizen; (g) prior to 1 July 1997 he failed to acquire the status of British National (Overseas); (h) he had not held any citizenship or nationality other than those described in (a), (b) and (d); and (i) being unaware that he may have a claim to British Overseas citizenship, he is holding or has held an Indian passport to which he was not entitled by virtue of (e) above.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Legal cost structures were largely negotiated at a time when the anticipated volumes of cases under the schemes were considerably lower than has proved to be the case. Higher than anticipated volumes of cases undoubtedly bring opportunities for batch processing and reduced costs per case. This is an issue the department is already actively pursuing.
	In particular, we consider that the level of solicitor fees set for the new "fast-track" approach we have implemented for the respiratory disease scheme should require significantly less input by solicitors and should therefore incur considerably reduced costs.
	We appealed the judge's initial ruling on this. The Court of Appeal upheld our action and the issue has been referred back to the scheme judge to reconsider in the light of the Court of Appeal's judgement.
	There are also other areas where we have yet to reach agreement with the claimants' solicitors on costs and we will be pursuing these equally vigorously to ensure they reflect work done and a reasonable level of return.
	Solicitors' costs are paid under the claims handling agreements within the framework of the group litigation for the two coal schemes. It is not an issue of whether the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Lord Warner: This information is not collected centrally.
	Bevacizumab (Avastin), in combination with irinotecan, is currently licensed for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic bowel cancer.
	Bevacizumab has been referred to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for appraisal. In the interim, there are no national restrictions on, or guidelines for, prescribing Bevacizumab on the National Health Service for patients who fit the licensed indication.
	Funding for licensed treatments should not be withheld because guidance from NICE is unavailable. In these circumstances, we expect primary care trusts to take full account of available evidence when reaching funding decisions. This is confirmed in Health Service Circular 1999/176, which asks NHS bodies to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from NICE is not available at the time the treatment or technology first became available.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The performance of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), which grants trade mark and Community design rights, is reported on that organisation's website. It has achieved noticeable improvements on a number of indicators recently. OHIM is overseen by an administrative board and budget committee on which the United Kingdom sits, alongside representatives from all the member states of the European Union and from the European Commission.
	Currently OHIM directly employs a number of United Kingdom nationals together with five members of staff on secondment from the United Kingdom Patent Office. In 2005 some 6,661 applications were filed by applicants from the United Kingdom, which accounted for 11.3 per cent. of the total number of trade marks filed in that year at OHIM. Since 1996 British businesses have registered 37,299 trade marks with OHIM, or 12 per cent. of the total registered. In each case, the registration constitutes a unitary right covering the whole of the European Union.

Viscount Astor: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the observation by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the "Today" programme on 6 March on getting rid of "all the other blood sports" reflects government policy.

Lord Bach: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made the comment "I've always said that when we get rid of all the other blood sports there'll still be the House of Commons" during her interview. It was designed to illustrate the heated debate among honourable Members of another place and had nothing to do with policy intentions.
	It was made absolutely clear in the Government's 2005 Rural Manifesto that we have no intention of placing restrictions on the sports of angling and shooting. The Hunting Act already includes exemptions to facilitate shooting. Steps to promote shooting and fishing have been taken jointly by the Ministers for Sport and Rural Affairs.

Lord Rooker: The Flag Regulations govern the flying of the Union flag from government buildings in Northern Ireland, which are defined as buildings wholly or mainly occupied by members of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. The flag must be flown on designated days at government buildings where it was the practice to fly the flag on designated days in the 12 months ending on 30 November 1999. Other government buildings have discretion to fly the flag on designated days. The flying of flags from other buildings is unregulated, although in practice many public and civic authorities choose to fly the Union flag at their buildings on the same days as government buildings.
	Of the buildings listed in the question, five are government buildings and five are public buildings. It was the practice for all five government buildings to fly the Union flag on designated days in the 12 months before 30 November 1999 and they are therefore obliged to fly the flag on designated days, in accordance with the Flags Regulations. Unfortunately on this occasion, due to an oversight, the flag was not flown on St Patrick's Day at DVTA, Hamiltonsbawn Road. Of the five public buildings, three choose to fly the flag on the same days as government buildings and two do not. The table below sets out the specific individual responses to the questions raised, as well as specifying whether a building is classed as a government or public building.
	
		
			 Buildings in Armagh city Government or public building? Has a Union Flag been provided? Was the Union flag flown on 17 March 2006? Is anyone employed with the specific responsibility of hoisting the Union Flag on designated dates? 
			 The Courthouse, the Mall Public Yes Yes No 
			 The Crown Buildings, Alexander Road Government Yes Yes Yes 
			 The Southern Education and Library Board,Beresford Row Public Yes Yes Yes 
			 The Southern Education and Library Board,Charlemont Place Public Yes Yes Yes 
			 The Department of Agriculture, the Mall Government Yes Yes Yes 
			 The Department of Agriculture, 2 Newry Road Government Yes Yes Yes 
			 The Library, Market Street Public No No No 
			 The Armagh and Dungannon Health & SocialServices Trust, Gosford Place Public No No Yes 
			 The Roads Service, Ballinahone Government Yes Yes Yes 
			 The Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency,Hamiltonsbawn Road Government Yes No Yes

Lord Triesman: The Government are in regular contact with the United States Government on foreign and defence policy issues. As a party to the Charter of the United Nations, the United Kingdom is committed to foreign and defence policies consistent with the purposes and principles set out in that Charter.

Baroness Andrews: I refer the noble Baroness to my answer of 22 March to the noble Lord, Lord Carter, (col. 238). We will continue to allow housing associations to restrict staircasing on rural exception sites where appropriate.
	The Government have received 89 representations from parish councils, district councils and the private sector, including the Rural Housing Trust, on the issue of allowing purchasers under the HomeBuy scheme to increase their equity stake to 100 per cent. Details are set out in the table below.
	This is in addition to the 131 respondents who responded to the question on whether staircasing should be restricted in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's consultation document HomeBuy—expanding the opportunity to own published in April 2005. The majority of respondents, including the Rural Housing Trust, supported restrictions in rural areas but a significant minority identified some potential legal and other difficulties with this approach.
	
		Representation made to Her Majesty's Government since the Government published our response to the HomeBuy consultation in September 2005.
		
			  Restrictions to apply 
			 Public Sector  
			 Borough Councils 4 
			 District Councils 9 
			 Parish Councils 17 
			 Town Councils 6 
			 (Rural) "Community Councils" 5 
			   
			 Private Sector  
			 Housing Associations/Rural Housing Trusts 22 
			 Individuals / Groups 23 
			 Rural Community Groups 3 
			 Totals 89 
		
	
	Breakdown of responses to Q.10 in the HomeBuy Consultation Paper—"Do you think there would be circumstances in which 'staircasing-up' should be restricted? If so, in what circumstances might this be desirable?"
	The following table gives details of the responses received suggesting that restrictions on staircasing should/should not apply in small rural areas.
	
		
			  Restrictions toapply Restrictions not to apply 
			 Borough Councils 4 3 
			 County Councils 1  
			 District Councils 26 2 
			 Metropolitan BoroughCouncils 1 2 
			 Regional Councils 1  
			 Regional Assemblies 1  
			 Unitary Authorities 4 1 
			 (Rural) CommunityCouncils 5  
			
			 Private Sector   
			 Housing Associations 30 26 
			 Individuals/Groups 11 6 
			 Rural CommunityGroups   
			 Rural Advocate for RuralCommunities 1  
			 Totals 85 40 
			  68% 32%

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Human Rights Act 1998 contains no provision expressly excluding it from the concept of implied repeal. However, Section 3 of the Act requires that all legislation, when enacted, should be read and given effect in a way which is compatible with the Convention rights. If this is not possible in respect of primary legislation, a court may make a declaration of incompatibility under Section 4 of the Act. This may limit the extent to which later legislation can effect implied repeal of the provisions of the Act.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Incidences of self-harm in the removal estate range from the very minor to those more serious attempts which require medical treatment. Detainees who self-harm may be treated within the centre or externally in hospital as appropriate. Most incidences, fortunately, occur at the lower end of the scale. There may be many reasons for the variation in incidences of self-harm between centres—length of stay, size and location of centre, fear of imminent removal and frustration of the removal process. All Detainee Custody Officers in removal centres are trained to the standard delivered within the Prison Service to help identify and prevent suicide and self-harm. They are also trained in accordance with their particular centre's own suicide and self-harm prevention strategy and procedures. Additionally, notices in various languages are displayed in all centres setting out that, where a detainee has a concern about a fellow detainee, this should be brought to the attention of a member of staff.

Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland received recently a copy of an anonymous letter containing allegations about the financial management, equality of opportunity and other matters in InterTradelreland. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, in conjunction with the Southern co-sponsor Department and the Board of InterTradelreland, has already initiated urgent enquiries into the issues raised in the letter.

Lord Drayson: The Ministry of Defence takes the medical treatment of its Armed Forces very seriously, and the care we provide is intended to encompass the whole course of their treatment, from the point of injury to eventual discharge from medical care.
	Mobilised reservists are entitled to receive the same treatment as regular personnel.
	Appropriate medical support is provided in-theatre when personnel are on deployment, and a range of establishments in the UK are able to offer further specialised treatment as required. As well as the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) within the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust (UHBFT) at Selly Oak, there are a further six Ministry of Defence Hospital Units (MDHUs) located within NHS hospitals across the country, enabling military patients there to obtain the high standards of treatment available in the NHS hospital, and allowing the Defence Medical Services to take advantage of NHS expertise.
	We also have 15 Regional Rehabilitation Units (RRUs) in the UK and Germany to provide assessment and treatment of musculo-skeletal disorders. Patients are referred from unit medical facilities where the simpler injuries would be diagnosed and treated. A Multidisciplinary Injury Assessment Clinic (MIAC) team within each RRU is responsible for providing an assessment and diagnostic service. The MIAC has rapid access to MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanning or other imaging if required. It then determines the most appropriate rehabilitation plan for the patient. This includes rapid access to orthopaedic surgery when clinically indicated, with every patient having a post-operative rehabilitation plan before surgery.
	Where appropriate, personnel may be referred for further treatment to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court, which provides high-quality medical care, rehabilitation, prosthetics and adaptations for service personnel.
	The MoD is also committed to providing appropriate healthcare to those servicemen and women suffering from mental health problems. This is based on a community-based approach so as to ensure that personnel have better, more timely and more convenient access to mental healthcare. To meet this commitment we have 15 Defence Community Mental Health teams across the UK, plus other satellite centres overseas. In-patient care, if required, is provided by the Priory Group. In addition to this, while personnel are in theatre, we provide appropriate levels of support from trained mental health staff either based in the UK or in theatre.
	The MoD is also working on a number of further initiatives, relating for example to the prevention and management of problems arising from operational stress and to the need to address issues of stigma and discrimination. We have work in hand to ensure that those leaving the services can recognise the signs of stress and know where to go for help.
	The MoD also has the discretion to meet the costs of treatment related to injuries of illnesses for which a war pension is paid, but not where that treatment is provided free under the UK legislation, such as through the NHS. In 2004–05, the charity Combat Stress received £2.8 million in respect of such treatment.
	Although I cannot comment on the individual case of Corporal Corrigan for reasons of medical confidentiality, I can confirm that his claims about the circumstances surrounding his treatment have been the subject of full investigations, and the MoD continues to be in regular contact with him, to ensure that he receives the full benefits to which he is entitled.

Lord Triesman: We, along with our EU partners, have stressed and will continue to stress to both the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority the need to adhere to international law.
	Any final status issues will need to be negotiated between the parties. These negotiations should take into account all aspects of international law and UN Security Council Resolutions. As my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary said on 15 March to the Foreign Affairs Committee, "we remain committed to the key resolutions, Security Council resolution 242 and 338, and on 1373. That is our position and we have actively supported the policy set out in the Road Map, and that remains our position".

Lord Adebowale: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people with a learning disability are living as inpatients in (a) National Health Service residential accommodation; (b) National Health Service campuses; and (c) independent hospitals, broken down by region and local authority area; and
	What was the average daily number of available beds for people with a learning disability in National Health Service trusts in England in each year since 1997, including the latest year for which figures are available, broken down by type of facility; and
	How many beds were available in independent hospitals in England for people with a learning disability in each year since 1997; and
	What progress has been made towards the closure of all National Health Service in-patient facilities for people with a learning disability in (a) long-stay National Health Service hospitals, and (b) National Health Service campuses.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: In the past five years HMRC (or the former HM Customs & Excise) has carried out two criminal investigations involving the alleged "leak" of information to criminal organisations by serving customs officers based in Northern Ireland.
	One of these investigations resulted in a senior officer of HM Customs & Excise receiving a three and a half year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to cheat the revenue. Another officer faces charges in relation to the second investigation and is awaiting trial.

Lord Rooker: Northern Ireland has accepted an invitation to participate in the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Festival in 2007. The Smithsonian's Curator and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure have consulted with representatives of Ulster Scots culture during the research phase.
	The selection of participants for the festival is the responsibility of the Smithsonian Institution and based on research and interviews participants.

Lord Rooker: NITB provided grant support of £15,000 under its Events Marketing Support Scheme (EMSS) to Feile An Phobail, the organising body of the August Feile 2004. The financial assistance was paid against eligible expenditure incurred to undertake international marketing activity. Payment was made under the terms and criteria of the EMSS and after Feile An Phobail had met the conditions within the letter of offer.
	While not a specific criteria of the EMSS, Feile An Phobail demonstrated a cross-community aspect to the event in its application by highlighting that the festival works extensively with ethnic minority groups from across Belfast and organises space to open up dialogue and involvement with all sectors and communities within Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: The amount of funding for the community festivals fund has been set at £550,000 for 2006–07 and 2007–08, including administration costs and support from the NI Events Company. The level of funding in subsequent years will be dependent upon the outcome of the 2007 comprehensive spending review.
	There are a number of other sources of funding outside central government that festival organisers may apply to for support and details of these are contained in Annexe 4 of the community festivals fund policy and guidance document, published on 13 February 2006.

Lord Rooker: In 2004 £10,000 was transferred by DCAL to the Northern Ireland Events Company (NIEC) to cover the transitional funding arrangements being administered by the NIEC on behalf of the department. The letter of allocation for transitional funding was issued to NIEC on 4 August 2005 and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Lord Rooker: The Rural Development Council is responsible for the delivery of Measure 1.11—Rural Reconciliation and Regeneration—of the Peace 2 extension. It has made two calls for individual project applications with the second call due to close for applications on 19 May 2006. It is processing the 179 applications received under the first call and the final assessment panel will meet during the first two weeks in April. At that stage funding will be awarded to projects.
	Under the measure it will also seek applications for specific themes. To date it has identified a need to develop rural community service centres. Under tender, it has committed £87,000 to the Rural Community Network to deliver a structured programme of service delivery development support to up to 16 communities across rural Northern Ireland.
	There is no requirement for the RDC or other implementing bodies to place copy applications in the Library of the House and given the number of applications received by the RDC and other implementing bodies for the EU Peace 2 Programme it would not be practical to do so. However details of the funding committed can be obtained directly from the RDC or the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

Lord Rooker: The research referred to in the previous Answer is the Community Uptake Analysis of PEACE II publication, commissioned by the Special EU programmes body at a cost of £28,963.75. It was carried out by HELM Corporation, in association with Trutz Haase and Jonathan Pratschke, between December 2004 and March 2005.
	A copy of the publication has been placed in the Library of the House.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Her Majesty's Stationery Office has maintained statistics about the laying dates and coming into force of statutory instruments since the beginning of 2005. As part of its evidence to the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee's inquiry it provided a detailed analysis of the instruments made during 2005 which were laid before Parliament (or the House of Commons) showing by department those where 21 days was not allowed between the date of laying and the instrument coming into force. The Committee published this analysis on pages 35 to 79 of volume two of its report (HL Paper 149-II). No central record is kept of the reasons for breaching the 21-day rule and this information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether HM Revenue and Customs has received any guidance or advice concerning the answering of Parliamentary Questions relating to the duty or tax liable on ministerial gifts, received overseas, over the normal travellers' allowance. [HL]
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave him on Tuesday 14 March, Official Report, cols. WA 215–216.

Lord Bach: The eighth annual Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties (COP 8) in Curitiba, Brazil ran from 20 to 31 March 2006. On Sunday 25 to Tuesday 28 March, my honourable friend Jim Knight attended the high-level ministerial segment of the conference in order to promote UK interests and achievements in international biodiversity, and made progress in a number of international agreements.
	The UK has the expertise to help other countries working toward their 2010 targets to halt the loss of biodiversity, and has funded many international projects through the Darwin Initiative.
	Ahead of the talks, Mr Knight was in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve visiting a Darwin Initiative project which aims to protect precious fish species in the area whilst safeguarding the livelihoods of local communities. Here, he had the opportunity to see first-hand work that demonstrates the UK's position as a leader in the international biodiversity arena.
	On Monday 27 March 2006 Mr Knight gave a press conference to outline the UK's aims for the meeting: the importance of mainstreaming biodiversity particularly in regard to poverty eradication.
	The UK Government have a strong commitment to the CBD process and working with other countries to help ensure the world's biodiversity is protected and used in a sustainable manner for all to benefit from.

Lord Adonis: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Maurice Smith, has written to the noble Lord and a copy of his reply has been placed in the Library.
	Letter from the Chief Inspector, Maurice Smith, dated 27 March 2006.
	Your recent Parliamentary Question has been referred to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, for reply.
	You asked why the inspection function of Ofsted is outside the scope of the general duty of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, as outlined in Ofsted's race equality scheme.
	Ofsted devised its first race equality scheme (RES), in keeping with its duties under the Act, in May 2002. This contained limited information beyond a review of Ofsted's functions as, at that time, it was assessed that the function of inspection itself did not differentially affect ethnic groups. This position has changed substantially as evidenced in the consultation documents regarding the development of our RES published on our website this year. The consultation document now clearly states that all our education inspection functions have high relevance to our general duty under the Act.
	I am pleased to say that we have been in regular contact with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) on a range of matters to do with the development of our RES and our duties under the Act and are working with them on a memorandum of understanding. We undertook a review of our race equality functions in spring 2005 and we intend to publish our newly revised RES in late summer 2006 following external consultation which ends in May. The draft version for consultation is available on our website. Impact assessments as part of action planning, training for Ofsted staff and inspectors and the intention to publish our findings widely are features of note.
	Please be assured that we take our statutory duties very seriously and are determined to work with the CRE and other bodies to renew our commitment to race equality.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Jacqui Smith and will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Lord Rooker: I confirm that the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland refused an application to the Peace II Programme from Altnaveigh House, Newry. The reason for the decision was that the application did not meet the Peace II reconciliation criteria.

Lord Rooker: All new recruits to the Police Service of Northern Ireland receive specific training on equality and diversity issues delivered both internally and externally.
	The first three days of induction are spent on a residential training course to explore, in a safe environment, issues around sectarianism, cultural and religious differences, empowerment, social history and reconciliation. This training also takes cognisance of wider cultural diversity issues which are explored more fully in the Police College programme. This specific equality and diversity training focuses on issues around, among other things, prejudices, stereotypes, assumptions based on people's race, religion, community background, political belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality etc. There is no singularised instruction for Ulster-Scots, Irish or Mandarin culture rather all strands of diversity are core themed throughout the 21 week training programme.
	Other external speakers attend the college to deliver specific equality and cultural diversity training. In addition to these initiatives the Police College also hosts a cultural traditions evening where recruits can meet and speak to representatives from various community groups. The cultural awareness evening provides an opportunity for different traditions to give a presentation to police trainees for about 10 minutes each. Current contributors to the awareness evening are the Orange Order, The Royal Black Institution, The GAA and the Irish language Society.
	The learning advisory council along with the Northern Ireland ethnic minority council and the association of further education establishments are currently in talks with the police college at providing language and cultural training in Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Russian.
	Police trainees in the Police Service of Northern Ireland currently receive no specific training in relation to any languages.

Lord Rooker: The Government's approach regarding the composition of the Policing Board is set out in my response to the noble Lord on 29 March 2006 (Official Report, col. WA 127)
	The temporary 50:50 recruitment measures are being applied as a response to the imperative of achieving a police service in Northern Ireland that is more representative of the community that it serves. Our goal is to achieve a 30 per cent. Catholic composition among officers by 2010–11. As we are on target to achieve this goal, these measures will not be applied after this time.
	These provisions are subject to review and possible renewal every three years, next due in March 2007, when the policy will be subject to detailed review, extensive consultation, and debate in both Houses.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Funding arrangements will continue to distinguish between current and capital spending in line with Government's fiscal framework that underpins delivery of the golden rule.

Lord Rooker: Organisations involved in restorative justice schemes have been awarded a total of just over £12,000 in respect of four successful applications to fund community relations and development projects unrelated to their restorative justice work with offenders. David Hanson has made it clear that funding in that area would only be considered if and when guidelines have been agreed and fully implemented by schemes.

Lord Triesman: The Government consider the recent comments made by the Russian Federation unhelpful. The UK attaches great importance to the customs agreement between Moldova and Ukraine and its contribution to the future success and integrity of the 5+2 (Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Transnistria, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe plus the EU and US) talks on the frozen conflict with Transnistria. The agreement is vital to transparency and better control of the external border of a country that will soon be a direct neighbour of the EU.
	The UK deeply regrets the current blockade that Transnistria has imposed along the border with Ukraine, and sincerely hopes that this disagreement can be resolved swiftly. Together with the US and EU partners, we remain committed to resolving the conflict and look forward to the resumption of talks with all participants on 5 April.
	The UK, the EU and the US have all issued statements expressing our solidarity and support for the customs declaration. Representation at official level continues to be made.

Lord Adonis: I refer the noble Lord to the replies given in the other place on 7 March, Official Report, cols. 1415–16W.
	We do not collect data on all deaf children and are therefore unable to provide an average or compare the attainments of deaf and normal-hearing children.
	Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) data have been collected since 2002. Information on type of Special Educational Need (SEN) has been collected via PLASC since 2004 for those pupils at School Action Plus and with a statement of SEN. The "type of SEN" indicator includes a category for pupils with a hearing impairment (HI) and information for pupils who have HI listed as their primary SEN is set out below for pupils at the end of primary (KS2) and secondary (KS4). Publication of all the information collected regarding the academic standards of deaf children in mainstream schools would incur disproportionate costs.
	
		KS2 achievements for 11 year-old pupils at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN, with hearing impairments as their primary SEN, in all maintained schools, 2003–04 and 2004–052
		
			  2004–05 2003–04 
			 Number of eligible 11 year-old pupils in reading 1,493 970 
			 Number achieving level 4+ in reading 913 478 
			 Percentage achieving level 4+ in reading 61.2% 49.3% 
			 Number of eligible 11 year-old pupils in writing 1,493 970 
			 Number achieving level 4+ in writing 566 309 
			 Percentage achieving level 4+ in writing 37.9% 31.9% 
			 Number of eligible 11 year-old pupils in maths 1,510 975 
			 Number achieving level 4+ in maths 795 426 
			 Percentage achieving level 4+ in maths 52.6% 43.7% 
		
	
	1 Number of KS2 eligible pupils with a valid result.
	2 Including attempts and achievement in previous academic years. Attainment data for 2004–05 are based on revised figures, for 2003–04 are based on final figures.
	
		GCSE and equivalent achievements for 15 year-old pupils with hearing impairments in all maintained schools, -- 2003–04 and 2004–05
		
			  2004–05 2003–04 
			 Number of 15 year-old pupils 1,704 1,060 
			 Number achieving level 2 threshold 646 338 
			 Percentage achieving level 2 threshold 37.9% 31.9% 
			 Number achieving level 1 threshold 1,407 838 
			 Percentage achieving level 1 threshold 82.6% 79.1% 
		
	
	1 Number of pupils on roll aged 15 at the start of the academic year.
	2 Including attempts and achievement in previous academic years. 3 Figures for 2004–05 are revised, figures for 2003–04 are revised as this is what was used in the statistical first release.
	All pupils both with and without SEN are assessed at the end of key stages of learning. In addition, pupils with SEN may have an individual education plan setting out three or four short-term targets focusing on one or more of the following key areas: communication, literacy, mathematics and behaviour and social skills. Pupils with a statement of SEN have their needs reviewed annually.
	With regard to provision for deaf children in mainstream school, the SEN statutory framework and the SEN code of practice should ensure that all children with special needs have those needs identified and assessed and receive appropriate support. The code makes clear the importance of early identification, assessment and provision for any child who may have SEN, including deaf children. In individual cases, assessments are carried out and decisions on provision are made locally.
	The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 extended the scope of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) to cover access to education. As a result disabled children, including deaf children, seeking access to education now have rights against discrimination under Part 4 of the DDA.
	With regard to special schools for deaf children, under arrangements introduced in the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, the consideration of proposals for establishing, altering, or discontinuing maintained special schools are a matter for local decision-making. Local authorities are best placed to respond to the needs of pupils in their particular areas. That is why the Government strengthened local participation in decisions about patterns of provision, and removed Ministers from direct involvement in the decision-making process.

Lord Adonis: I refer the noble Lord to the reply given in the other place on 14 March, Official Report, col. 2206W.
	The Government do not collect information centrally on numbers of special teachers of the deaf or numbers of teachers with specialist training. There is a requirement under regulations that where qualified teachers wish to specialise in teaching children with a hearing impairment they must obtain a mandatory qualification. The department approves the providing institutions.
	The General Teaching Council is in the process of updating its records of numbers of teachers with specialist training, which are currently incomplete.
	The Special Educational Needs (SEN) code of practice provides advice to local authorities and schools on their statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for children who have special educational needs, including children who are deaf. The code sets out a graduated approach to providing support. Many children who are deaf will have statements of SEN. All statements must be reviewed at least annually. The purpose of the review is to consider children's progress, to ensure they are achieving desired outcomes and, if necessary, to amend their statements to reflect newly identified needs and provision.
	In addition, the development of the New Relationship with Schools brings a focus on how well schools meet the needs of all their pupils. All schools will carry out an annual self-evaluation and publish a single plan setting out their priorities for improvement in which they will need to show how all their pupils are achieving. This process will highlight any gaps in achievement between different groups of children, which will then be discussed with a locally appointed school improvement partner.
	Our White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools for all published in October 2005, which builds on Removing Barriers to Achievement published in February 2004, promotes a more effectively tailored education for all children with special education needs by increasing the sharing of expertise between special and mainstream schools; equipping the workforce with appropriate skills, knowledge, awareness and confidence; and promoting more effective measurement of, and accountability for, the progress made by pupils with SEN across a wide range of abilities. The White Paper also set out our plans for personalised learning. These include providing targeted support for groups of children who are at risk of underachieving, including those with SEN. We will spend an additional £565 million by 2007–08 to support schools to tailor teaching to the needs of all their pupils.

Lord Rooker: While current evidence indicates that there are no major difficulties in the supply of science and technology teachers to Northern Ireland schools, the Department of Education has none the less asked the teacher-training providers to have regard to the need to increase the number of student teachers in science and technology subjects from within their approved intakes allocations. In addition, the department has recently granted its approval for Stranmillis and St Mary's University Colleges to offer a BEd (Hops) secondary pathway in science from September 2006.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter to Lord Steinberg from the National Statistician, dated 12 April 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question to Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of how much on average, out of every £100, a basic rate taxpayer pays in tax, taking into account VAT, excise duties, national insurance and income tax. (HL5088)
	Estimates of the tax burden on households are based on the ONS analyses The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, which is published annually. The published figures do not provide estimates of the total tax paid (including indirect taxes) at the individual level. Nor is it practical for the analyses to give estimates solely for basic rate taxpayers. However, this analysis does provide an estimate of the share of gross household income paid in tax, by different types of household. Estimates are provided for income quintile groups: the bottom 20 per cent. of households, the second, third and fourth quintile groups and the top 20 per cent. of households. These income quintile groups are based on a ranking of households by equivalised disposable income—a widely used measure of living standards.
	The latest analysis for 2003–04 was published on the National Statistics website on 7 July 2005 at www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits.
	The analyses are based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey (the Family Expenditure Survey before 2001–02).
	Table 3 from this analysis has been attached below. It shows the total tax paid as a percentage of gross income for all households by income quintile groups. In general households with higher income pay a higher proportion of their income in direct taxes, but a lower proportion in indirect taxes.
	Estimates of indirect taxes are imputed based on household expenditure. When comparing the incidence of indirect taxes on households at different levels of income, it should be remembered that measured expenditure will not necessarily balance with measured income for the year. On average, measured expenditure exceeds measured income for households in the lower half of the distribution.
	To give a more complete picture of the impact of indirect taxes, they are shown in Table 3 separately as a proportion of gross income, disposable income and expenditure. Table 3 shows taxes as a percentage of gross income, disposable income and expenditure for all households by quintile groups', 2003–04:
	(a) Direct and indirect taxes as a percentage of gross income;
	(b) Indirect taxes as a percentage of disposable income;
	(c) Indirect taxes as a percentage of expenditure 2
	
		Quintile groups of all households1
		
			  Bottom 2nd 3rd 4th Top All households 
			 (a) Percentages of gross income 
			 Direct taxes 
			 Income tax3 3.3 5.9 9.9 13.5 18.3 13.5 
			 Employees' NIC 1.4 2.8 4.4 5.4 4.6 4.4 
			 Council Tax & Northern Ireland rates4 4.9 3.7 3.1 2.5 1.7 2.5 
			 All direct taxes 9.6 12.4 17.5 21.4 24.6 20.4 
			 Indirect taxes 
			 VAT 10.7 8.1 7.3 6.4 4.9 6.4 
			 Duty on alcohol 1.5 1.2 1.1 0.9 0.6 0.9 
			 Duty on tobacco 3.2 1.8 1.3 0.9 0.4 1.0 
			 Duty on hydrocarbon oils & vehicle excise duty 2.9 2.4 2.3 2.1 1.4 1.9 
			 Other indirect taxes 9.7 6.7 5.7 4.8 3.6 5.0 
			 All indirect taxes 28.0 20.3 17.8 15.1 10.9 15.1 
			 All taxes 37.7 32.7 35.2 36.4 35.5 35.5 
			 (b) Percentages of disposable income 
			 VAT 11.8 9.2 8.9 8.1 6.5 8.0 
			 Duty on alcohol 1.7 1.4 1.4 1.2 0.8 1.1 
			 Duty on tobacco 3.6 2.1 1.5 1.1 0.5 1.3 
			 Duty on hydrocarbon oils & vehicle excise duty 3.3 2.8 2.8 2.6 1.8 2.4 
			 Other indirect taxes 10.7 7.6 6.9 6.1 4.8 6.2 
			 All indirect taxes 31.0 23.2 21.5 19.2 14.4 19.0 
			 (c) Percentages of expenditure2 
			 VAT 7.9 8.0 7.9 7.4 7.1 7.5 
			 Duty on alcohol 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.1 0.9 1.1 
			 Duty on tobacco 2.4 1.8 1.4 1.0 0.6 1.2 
			 Duty on hydrocarbon oils & vehicle excise duty 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.0 2.3 
			 Other indirect taxes 7.2 6.6 6.1 5.7 5.2 5.9 
			 All indirect taxes 20.8 20.1 19.1 17.7 15.9 17.9 
		
	
	1 Households are ranked by equivalised disposable income.
	2 Calculated to be consistent with disposable income. See paragraph 35 of Appendix 2 for the definition of expenditure.
	3 After deducting those tax credit payments which are treated as negative income tax (see Appendix 2, paragraph 22), and tax relief at source on life assurance premiums.
	4 After deducting discounts, council tax benefits and rates rebates.

Lord Rooker: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the noble Lord in response to this Question.
	Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin to Lord Laird dated 6 April 2006.
	You recently asked Her Majesty's Government two Parliamentary Questions relating to bus lanes in Belfast:
	how the estimate of taxi flow in traditional traffic models in the development of policy on bus lanes in Belfast was carried out; by whom; and when; and
	to what extent the impacts of both public hire and private hire taxis' use of Belfast's bus lane infrastructure have been assessed in terms of travelling passenger and general traffic flow.
	I have been asked to reply as the issues raised fall within my responsibility as chief executive of Roads Service.
	I should perhaps explain that in the Government's transport policy statement entitled "Moving Forward" published in 1998, and the subsequent regional transportation strategy, published in 2002, the department undertook to encourage modes of travel other than private car and to explore the role of taxis in an integrated transportation system.
	In 1999, the former Minister Lord Dubs decided that the Belfast public hire taxis and taxis that operate under a road service licence, should be admitted to bus lanes on routes where they are licensed to operate. He also asked that the suitability of allowing motorcycles and all other taxis using bus lanes be investigated. This decision has largely directed bus lane policy development since.
	The Belfast Transport Model (BTM), which was used as part of the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan assessment process, is a multi-modal transport model of the Belfast metropolitan area, and provides a detailed representation of all motorised modes of transport in the Belfast area. The model takes account of the main highway, rail and bus networks and has a 2001 base year model and a 2015 forecast model, which are based on actual or future estimates of population and employment planning data.
	While the BTM incorporates bus and public hire taxis vehicle movements it was not considered an appropriate tool to inform the decision-making process in relation to bus lane policy.
	As regards the impacts of public and private hire taxis' use of Belfast's bus lane infrastructure on travelling passenger and general traffic flow, I can advise that following the introduction of public hire taxis into bus lanes in June 2002, surveys subsequently carried out on main arterial routes between October 2002 and March 2003 showed that the level of usage by public hire taxis during the hours of bus lane operation was extremely small and not sufficient to cause any adverse impact to the operation of the bus services.
	Translink confirmed that it had not experienced any problems on its bus operations and the West Belfast Taxi Association has also said that having use of the bus lanes has enhanced the efficiency of its service by enabling customers to progress to their destination in a more timely manner.
	Private hire taxis are currently not permitted into bus lanes and, as such, no assessment has been made of the impact this might have on bus lane operation or traffic flow. However, I can advise that the department plans to carry out further investigations later this year. These are expected to include a review of findings from elsewhere in the UK and Ireland, a review of any relevant research, traffic surveys and analysis and consultation.